Head of Education Department convicted in Odesa region for excessive salaries

In Odesa region, a court found the head of the education department of the Vyhodianske village council guilty of official negligence. The official accrued excessive funds from the budget to educators.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

The court approved a plea agreement in the case of official negligence against the head of the Department of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports of the Vyhodianske Village Council of Odesa District.

According to the court, the official, who had no previous convictions, was accused of committing a criminal offense under Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - official negligence. According to the Register of Educational Entities, the Department of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports is headed by Valentyna Grabovska.

According to the investigation, in the period from February 11, 2021, to September 30, 2023, while holding the position of head of the department, she improperly performed her duties to control and verify payroll records. In particular, she signed payment orders on the basis of which salaries were paid to employees of subordinate educational institutions.

As a result, 16 employees of educational institutions were awarded bonuses for the complexity and intensity of their work in excess of 50% of their salaries, amounting to over UAH 428 thousand. This resulted in unjustified additional payments of almost UAH 55 thousand.

Among other things, the official unreasonably accrued a seniority bonus to a librarian who worked part-time at the Kamianske gymnasium, as well as to librarians of other educational institutions in the community. In addition, the heads of the libraries of the Berezan gymnasium and Vyhodiansk Lyceum, as well as the head of the Vasylivka pre-school educational institution, the Kolosok kindergarten, received additional payments. The total amount of damage caused by the improper performance of official duties amounted to UAH 539,757.

In February, the prosecutor of the Bilyaevsky District Prosecutor 's Office and the accused entered into a plea agreement. A representative of the injured party, the Vyhodianske village council, did not object to the agreement and said that the community intended to continue to cooperate with the defendant. She also asked that the civil suit for damages be dismissed.

The court found the official guilty and sentenced her to two years in prison without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities and without a fine. At the same time, she was released from serving her sentence with probation for one year and six months. In addition, she was ordered to pay UAH 68,155 to the state as compensation for the cost of the examination.

Also in February, a court in Odesa seized documents in the case of embezzlement of salaries in municipal kindergartens in the Prymorskyi district. The investigation found that officials of five institutions paid salaries to fictitious employees and misappropriated budget funds.

Анна Бальчінос